Floods on Cape Coast: ‘Wonderful’ Hawke’s Bay community only gets stronger when the swells hit, residents say

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When the waves crashed over Hawke’s Bay’s Cape Coast and the nails and planks of a ruined building went flying, the community did what it does best.

They turned into, in one residents’ words, “a family”.

One home on Clifton Rd, Haumoana was badly flooded during the high tides on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, while other properties and roads were also moderately flooded. Fortunately, no one was reported injured.

An evacuation centre was opened at Haumoana School at 8pm on Tuesday, when emergency services began to evacuate hundreds of people in coastal areas around Haumoana, due to the risk of flooding from the 6m swells.

Evacuations continued into Wednesday morning.

More than 40 people were staying at that evacuation centre by mid-morning Wednesday, including those who self-evacuated from the likes of neighbouring Te Awanga (which is part of the wider Cape Coast).

Hastings Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst said people were understandably concerned about the next high tide on Wednesday at 9pm, and people should keep a close eye on the Civil Defence website and advice from first responders.

Haumoana resident Ged Klingender owns a home on Clifton Rd, where a stretch of 18 homes are close to the seafront and particularly vulnerable to big storms.

He said neighbours saw waves break over some of those homes but, fortunately, no water made its way into his home or his neighbour’s home.

Waves crash over an abandoned house on Clifton Rd in Haumoana on Wednesday morning. A home further up that road was also badly flooded while the occupant was inside. Photo / Paul Taylor

Klingender said it was great to see people quickly lending a hand and helping where they could – cleaning up flooded roads and properties and checking on one another.

He said it felt like the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle in February 2023, when the community pulled together.

“It is a wonderful community – it was a community and now it’s a family. It is remarkable,” he said.

The clean-up from flooding along Clifton Rd in Haumoana on Wednesday morning, across the road from the Haumoana shops. Photo / Paul Taylor

People cleaning up Clifton Rd, Haumoana after the high tide washes through. Photo / Paul Taylor

“Right the way through the whole area [of the Cape Coast], everybody pulls together.”

Klingender lives in a rental in another coastal part of Haumoana, while doing up his home on Clifton Rd, and was evacuated about 3.30am from that rental.

The coast at Haumoana after copping a battering. Photo / Paul Taylor

“I gathered a bag and hopped out and the neighbours said that we are up here and all right so come and join us – so it was bacon and eggs and cups of tea.”

He said the forecast appeared to be for the swells to diminish ahead of the next high tide at 9pm on Wednesday. His own home on Clifton Rd included poles at the seafront, which acted as a breaker for waves.

An evacuation centre was set up at Haumoana School. Photo / Gary Hamilton-Irvine

Hastings Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst said “we have to respect” the next high tide and Civil Defence would be keeping a close eye on that event.

Haumoana Four Square was extremely busy with people getting supplies throughout Wednesday.

A staff member, who only wanted to be known as Jo, said some people had been impacted worse than others, after talking to locals.

“It has been quite busy, and mostly people are stocking up just in case [they need supplies] and putting the word out that if anybody needs a hand, they are there.”

Gary Hamilton-Irvine is a Hawke’s Bay-based reporter who covers a range of news topics including business, councils, breaking news and cyclone recovery. He formerly worked at News Corp Australia.